Recovering Florimon visits Hammond Stadium

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Twins shortstop Pedro Florimon was back at Hammond Stadium on Thursday after undergoing emergency laparoscopic surgery to remove his appendix only three days ago.

Florimon began feeling pain in his right side and was rushed to the hospital by Twins traveling secretary Mike Herman in the wee hours of Sunday morning. After a CT scan revealed appendicitis, the surgery was performed about 14 hours later.

Florimon looked fit and sounded chipper as he sat in front of his locker. He said he's expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks.

"Now I feel very good," he said. "I was sleeping when I felt the pain. It woke me up. I went to the [hotel] lobby to get some medicine, but when it didn't help, I had to call somebody. [Herman's] number was the only one I had."

Florimon said his energy level is good, but his activities are restricted. He can't bend quickly and certainly is not allowed to lift any weights until his body completely heals.

"He's going to be pretty limited on activities for at least two weeks," Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony said earlier in the week. "And then it'll be a build up process. He'll need all of Spring Training to get ready."

The Twins remain hopeful that Florimon will be ready for Opening Day on March 31 against the White Sox, but it may be too early to really know.

"I'm going to go slowly," Florimon said. "I'm going to ice it two or three times a day and see what happens. It's tough for me right now to even get out of a bed, to go down and get up. We'll see what happens in a couple of weeks. I want to be here and play. It's boring in the hotel. There's nothing to do."